Stone picker and turf maintenance machine

ABSTRACT

A stone picker and turf maintenance machine capable of removing stone and debris from areas to be seeded with a minimum of initial soil preparation. The machine has a series of curved, individually flexible rake fingers or teeth which are adapted for engagement below the surface of the ground to lift stones to the surface. The stones are then engaged by flexible tines rotating on a reel and are moved along the surfaces of the rake fingers. The entrained soil and soil amendments are aerated, pulverized and sifted through the rake fingers. The stones are moved along by the tines within the curvature of the rake fingers and are deposited in a bin.

United States Patent Inventor Thomas G. Pardy Stratiord, Conn. Applv No.734,100 Filed June 3, 1968 Patented Jan.19,197l Assignee BridgeportImplement Works, Inc.

Stratford, Conn.

STONE PICKER AND TURF MAlNTENANCE MACHINE Primary Examiner-Antonio F.Guida Attorney-Mattern, Ware & Davis ABSTRACT: A stone picker and turlmaintenance machine capable of removing stone and debris from areas tobe seeded with a minimum of initial soil preparation. The machine has aseries of curved, individually flexible rake fingers or teeth which areadapted for engagement below the surface of the ground to lift stones tothe surface. The stones are then engaged by flexible tines rotating on areel and are moved along the surfaces of the rake fingers. The entrainedsoil and soil amendments are aerated, pulverized and sifted through therake fingers. The stones are moved along by the tines within thecurvature of the rake fingers and are deposited in a bin.

PATENIEDJm s I971 sum -1 or a INVENTOR. EFEIMAEJ E1. PARDY Mailer Mzrefl2a 145 PATENTED JAN 1 91911 sum 2 or 3 3 M W. M

PATENIED JAN] 91971 SHEET 3 0F 3 1 STONE PlCKER-AND, TURF MAINTENANCEMACHINE SUMMARY OFITHE'TNYENTI'ON j Acommercially successful stonepicker, accordin'g'to prior art, is disclosed in C). F. Reiter, SrKPat.No. 2,686.996, which is assigned to the assignee of'the'presentapplication.

' The stone picker disclosed in the Reiter patent is a heavy duty devicecomprising a grill-likecurved stone guide having a continuous groundsurfacc engaging blade for guiding stones and Isifting the soil fromstone'sthat arepushed into it: by two or j more gratelik'o paddles orpickers mounted on a rotating reel.

. A, stone guide is adapted to be drawn over thcground from r 2 whichthe stones are to be removed, and to receive stones that v are directedtoward it by the rotating pickers. it functions principally to receivestones directedjto it by the picke'rs'and to guide the stones toward acontainer. Any soil that is picked up by the pickers or thesjtone guideis sifted through openings wardly in atrajectory determined-by theshapejof thelstone guide. The pickers include welded reinforcing membersand "areutilized to holdeach picker assembly inpicking'positio'n .on thereeLthe springsJallowing some yielding movement of the entire pickerassemblyrelativethe. reel in the event the picker should strike .alarge: stone't hat requires its yielding movement or a stonebecomesj'ammed in the machine.

4 I machine of my invention variesconsiderably from the earlier conceptof Reiter that'l utilize aground-engaging fstone guide having a seriesof individual yielding forklike teeth -.which-are-adapted to enter intothe soil from which stones or trash are to be removed although it shouldbe understood that it is not necessary that the fork teeth actually beentered into the soil where such entry is not required by conditions.Because I use individual yielding or flexingte'eth, it is obviousandeach-will be adapted to yield'andto rn'ov'e upwardly and downwardlywhen required; As aparticularfeature of this portion of theinventioruthe fork te'ethiare mounted in a very in I genious manner sothat they willbe held in proper alignment with one another while flexingindividually. Also; they may readily be removed for replacement'by theoperator without the use of special tools or welding'equipm ent. v

' A basic feature of my invention resides in the extremely novel pickingtines that'l have conceived for the rotating stone picker. The pickingtines of my invention are mounted on a reel as broadly shown in Reiterfor rotation to bring the tines intooperative relationship to the raketeeth of the stone guide. In my concept, the tines are considerablylonger than the radius of a circle defined by the distance between theaxis of rotation of the reel and the end of each picking tine, to theend that each picking tine is secured to the reel at that side of theaxis of rotation opposite the side 'of the reel to which the picking endof the tine extends. Furthermore, the secured end of each tine is offsetrelatively to the axis of rotation of the 3 reel, so'that each pickingtine is mounted at an angle to the diameter of the reel in order tocontribute a sweeping action 1 relative to the soil. This sweepingaction will be more fully explained in the descriptive portionof thespecification.

As a more particular feature of this portion of my invention, eachpickingtine is formed of flexing spring metaL'and each picking tine isindependently secured preferably in a resilient socket so that not onlymay each picking tine flex bodily, but each picking tine may also flexthrough the resiliency of the socket securing it to the reel, Further,because of the greater length of each picking tine that is made-possibleby the extremely novel mounting thereof in the .reel, better utilizationto acceptstones from-thesoil and to'project the stones up.

are mounted for unitary paddlelike movement. Heavy springs1that'eachwill react independently when contacting a'stone I ofthespringlike character of the-pickingtines is made possi- .2 &

ble, In other words,'longer picking tines may be used because of thenovel mounting of the picking tines, thereby making possible thebetterutilization ofthe flexing of the tines, as well as the sweepingaction-inherent in the, offset mounting of the structural members. Thus,the springlike'tines and fork teeth will bypass-one another if that isrequired because of particular soil and stone conditions, and the stonepicking action will be extremely effective. i

The novel machine thus formeduby the springlike curved rake toothedstone guide and the offset resiliently mounted springlike rotating tinescan be used very advantageously for other soil treatmentssuch asaeration, pulverization, and the blending of varioussoil amendments,such as fertilizer, loam and the like, to produce an ideal seedbed.--Furthermore, the

novel machine thus formed can also bes usedfor. such turf maintenancetasksas raking, aerating and thatching, all of which were impossiblewith the prior art stone pickers such as shownin the above Reiterpatent. n

Furthermore, the prior art stonepickers were adapted for merely pickingstones that were laying on the surface of the ground. When'it wasdesired to remove stones from the sub.

surface, treatment with other soil-conditioning machines was necessarybefore the stone picking operation; for example, the soil hadto. beharrowed, plowed, or. raked prior to stone picking. The machine of thepresent invention with the curved individually flexible raketoothedstone guide and the revolv-' ing resiliently mounted'long spring tinesis adapted for removing stones and trash to a considerable, depth belowthe surface of the. ground, thus reducing the number of operationsrequired for the preparation of the seed bed. a As a still furtherfeature of my invention, l employ a novel arrangement of wheels forsupporting the stone picker of my invention. As in the Reiter patent,the forks or take teeth and the picking tines cooperating therewith aresupported at one end of a chassis, and opposed wheels and an axle aremounted atithis end outboard of the picking mechanism. This results inpoor picking when the wheel on the unpicked side of the machineridesover a large stone or hard 'agglomerate as the stone-picking mechanismis raised :aibovithe surface of .the

ground. ,Such means would, therefore, have to be gone over at leasttwice with prior art machines. in my machine I have conceivedthe'feature of placing the'wheels inwardly of the path defined by thepicking tines and rake teeth. Therefore, in my machine the wheels alwaystraverse 'an' area that has been acted upon by the machine, and whichis, therefore, relatively smooth. In this way, 1 exercise veryeifectivecontrol over the operation of my picking tines and rake, all through anextremely simple concept and its utilization, and the machine normallyhas to pass over each area of the ground only once.

It will also be obvious that because of my contribution, I am 7 able touse a relatively large reel and relatively long picking tines whileemploying a machine of the lowest possible profile commensurate with theparticular lengths of the picking tines.

trary to my expectations the resilient picker teeth should be,

square in cross section rather than circular. The square crosssection'is less likely to deflect small stones which may then work theirway through the resilient tines;

The above generally described novel design permits the stone picker andturf maintenance machine of the present invention to be produced in anydesired size, such as a compact machine for use with small tractors forlawns and small areas,

as well as large heavy duty machines for use with commercial tractorsoperating in large recreational, farm, and industrial soil preparationand turf maintenance operations OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is,therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a stone picker.

Another object of the invention is to provide a combined stone pickerand turf maintenance machine.

A further object of the invention is to provide a stone picker and turfmaintenance machine of the above character which may be commerciallymanufactured in different sizes.

A still further object of the inventionis to provide a stone picker andturf maintenance machine of the above character that will remove stonesand debris from beneath the surface, as well as from the surface of soilor sand.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stone picker and turfmaintenance machine of the above character for aerating, pulverizing andblending soil amendments.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a stone picker andturf maintenance machine of the above character that may also be usedfor such turf maintenance tasks as raking, aerating and thatching.

A further object of the invention is to provide a stone picker and turfmaintenance machine of the above character of low profile and greatcompactness.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a stone picker andturf maintenance machine of the above character that is not influencedadversely by adjacent areas which have not yet had the stones removedtherefrom.

Another object of the inventions is to provide a stone picker and turfmaintenance machine of the above character in which individual stonepicking and raking parts may be conveniently replaced.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a stone picker andturf maintenance machine of the above character that will perform thetasks of removing stone and debris from the surface and subsurface ofsoil, aerate, pulverize and blend soil amendments to produce a readyseed bed in a single operation.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in partappear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction,combination of elements, and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth. The scope of theinvention is indicated in the claims.

THE DRAWINGS For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of theinvention, reference should be had to the following detailed descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a machine embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the stone receiving containerboth in its normal and in its dumping positions;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a partial view showing the manner in which the stone guideforks are individually secured to a rack;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the square shape of each pickertine and the manner in which it is secured to the revolving reel; and

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view showing the relating of thepicker tines to the machine in various positions thereof, and alsoshowing the improved picking action of the picker tines of the presentinvention as compared to the picking action of a picker tine constructedaccording to the prior art.

The same reference characters refer to the same elements throughout theseveral views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring now more particularly to the drawings,the main frame of the machine of my invention is designated generally byreference numeral 10. The frame is supported at its forward end, whennot being moved, by a leg 11, and at its rear by wheels and an axle,indicated generally at 12. The machine is equipped with a suitable hitch(not shown) whereby it may be secured to a tractor at its forward end tobe towed over the ground to be treated,

The rake forks of my invention are best shown in FIGS. 3, 5 and 6,although they may also be seen in other figures of the drawings. Theseforks are designated generally by reference numeral 13 and each fork isformed of a square bar of spring steel fabricated into the curved formillustrated in the drawings. The several curved forks 13 are adapted tobe secured to a rack designated by reference numeral 14.

The rack takes the form of a flat straight plate 15, as shown. It a hastwo rows of holes 16 and 18 drilled in it such that when carriage bolts1? are engaged therewith the square portions 20 of the carriage boltswill snugly engage the fork teeth 13 so that they may be secured by thenuts 21 engaging the bolts 19. Thus, an individual tooth; for example13b, may be removed by removing the bolts on each side thereof.Furthermore, no expensive machining of the rack 14 is required.

The rack 14 is mounted at each end to each of a part of plates -30,shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 7. At the upper end of one of the plates 30there is secured a pin 31 (FIG. 2). A cable 32 is connected to the pin31 at one end, the said cable being reeled over a reel 33 at its otherend. The cable 32, as will be seen presently, rotates the bars and therack 14 for positioning the forks 13. As shown in FIG. 7 each of theplates 30 extends downwardly and terminates in a bearing 35 that ismounted for rotation about a hub 36 that is fixed to a portion of thereel 37 on which the picking tines are mounted.

The hub 36, a key 38, and the reel 37 rotate together as a unit with ashaft 39 mounted in bearings 40-40 (only one of which is shown in FIG.7). Each bearing 40 is formed on a part 41 of the main frame 10 of myinvention. The two plates 30 and rack 14 may rotate about the hubs 36.Rotation in this manner is imparted by the cable 32, and obviously, therack and the several forks 13 will be moved between an operative loweredposition, such as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in engagement with the soil,and an upper position away from the soil.

As best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the forks 13 are curved in a circleconcentric with shaft 39 except for straight portions at each end, wherethey are attached to the rack 14, and the ground-engaging portion. Whenthe forks 13 are rotated about axle 39 to where their ground-engagingportions are directly below the axle 39, they are inserted severalinches or more below the surface of the ground as may be required by thesoil, sand or turf treatment operation being performed.

Coacting with the rack 14 and forks 13 are picking tines designated byreference numeral 45. These picking tines are secured to the reel 37 bymeans of a pair of pipes 46, each pipe being mounted at one end on thereel 37 by being fitted on a cylindrical lug 48, as best illustrated inFIG. 7. For the particular purpose, each cylindrical lug 48 may beintegral with a plate 47 preferably welded to the reel 37, as also shownin FIG. 7. Each pipe 46 is formed with a series of bores 50 each adaptedfor passage for a bolt 51. Each bolt 51 is formed with a head 52 wherebyit is secured to a resilient socket 53, as shown in FIG. 8 Preferably,each bolt is secured to a socket 53 at the time that the socket is cast.The socket has a surface 54, also as shown in FIG. 8, that conforms wellto the curvature of pipe 46, so that it may be applied to the pipe andsecured in the position shown by means of a nut 55 threaded on the bolt51.

Each tine 45 is preferably formed of spring steel of square crosssection and has a head whereby it also may be secured to the resilientsocket 53 during the casting thereof.

.nowbe appreciated. f t j Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 9, the tines 45in their un- Thesoeket 53. may hemmed of a synthetic 1 rubbermaterial,or some other-resilient materialpso as to flex'readily under stress. orcourse, the several pickingtin'es45 also will bend readily'relative tothef sockets when circumstances demand.

Thereformthe tines will function through bending bodily and also throughthe fleatlingbfsockets'Sl-a Y i a As was earliernotedt thereare twopipes 46u and by reference toFlGSJ, 3, 4 and 9, itwill be s'e'enthatthese pipes areoffset relative to the shaft39 withwhich the reel 37rotates on hubs 36; in otherwordspthe two pipes 46 are well offset thatare not part of my invention, are utilized to hold the plate Jl in'itsfill line position in FIG. 3. and to allow it to move to its dumpingposition, these conventional means being inthe form of a vertical strut76 integrally secured to the plate 71. Strut 76 is controlled by a bar77 pivoted to the machine at 78 and urged by a spring 79 to the positionshown in FIG. 2.v ln that figure a small latch 80. is shown-coactingwith a pin 81 on relative to the axis of rotation of the reel3 7 withshaft 39 This makes it possible for each tine .45 to be considerablylonger than would be possible if the construction'and .theory of theprior ,artwerefollowed. In FlG.-9,-the longestpossible tine that can beusedif prior art theory is followed, is designated by the strut 76 tohold strut 76 in position. Those skilled in the art will appreciate thatvarious other means could be used for this purpose. 1

Each wheel of my machihe is designated by reference numeral,85;and ismounted on an axle The wheels are mountedjnboard of the frame 10 of themachine behind the reference numeral 45?. The rather considerableincrease in t l length that is'madelpossible through theuse of myconstrue: tionis well emphasized in FlG. 9w asimple comparison of the'lengths of tines, andASP. l V

an angle to the soilfand, therefore,'bett'er rakes the soil and alsobettera coacts with forks 13;" forcxamplefifastone becomes-wedgedbetween them. It should also beappreciated picking mechanism so'thatthey will always roll in a path that has been treated by the forksBandth'e' picking tines 45. Becauseof thisconstruction, theforks l3andthe picking tines 45 will always be in a controlled related positionrelative to the wheels 8S-85 and thus thesurface'of'the; ground beingthat, despite theofts'ctzposition oftine145 in FlG'. 9;.its'end45 willalways movegunlessflexed. on the cidcumferenceof a eirl cle, the centerof which isthe 'centerof the shaft 3 9. The ends 45: oftines45 will;therefore,.follow readilythe curvatures of the forks 13. In dash and.dot lines in-Fl G.-9. a tine 45 is shown slightly flexed. as will bethe case whenia relativelylargestone is moved. The flexingactionwill-.bemuch morejeasily. ,ac

cepted by theltine amused itsmouhting than were it-in the radialposition of the tine 459. Further; the combination of yielding forks. l3with rny tinesprovidesian extremely effective picking actiontogetherwith trouble free machine operation. 1 t

believethat'the veryconsiderable advance of my novel concept and itsveryjcomplete' departure from the prior art, will flexed conditionextend several inches below the surface 90 of the groundlThis is"permissible with my flexible tines that'will deflect if the groundis'toohard and'it facilitates removing stonesanddebn's from below grade. italsomake's it possible to simultaneously aerate and pulveriz e the soiland blend soil amendments to prepare the seed 'and'to use 'the samemachine for turf nai ftehan'ce tasks such as raking. jaeratin'gandthatchingl' The reel 37. best shownin is formed with a'pub A furtheradvance. of my construction resides in the feature that whereasfltine Bis' radiallyppsitionedon .the. reel 37, and I is,"therefore,perpendicularto I the soil;in ,l-'lG.9,tirie 45 is at treated. U Nowreferring'to' FIG. 2, leg ll is provided with a plurality I ofverticallyaligned holes 92, A hitch (not shown) may be 'engagedtherewith to support the front end of the machine at any one 1 ofseveral I different levels, As the vrnachine will thereby rotate aboutthe wheel axles 86-86. the, placement ofthe hitch il V determine thedepth of whichtines 45 penetrate below the ground surface r l't willbe;noted that because the wheels 85 are in relatively close axialrelation, stability of the vehicle is to some extend adversely affected.However, becuusepof the manner in which l mount the picking-tines,rather long pic'lting tines may be used while permitting the pickingreel to. be mipuntcd on .a shaftpositioned at a very low level-ohthemachine. This per- }3 mits a, very considerable lowering of the overallheight of the machine so-as to compensate for the-inboai'd pbsitioningof the wheels. l g V I It will be seen tliat l have thus providedainachine capable 'of removingstones and debris from a substantialportion'of the subsurface aswell as the surface of the ground:Thearrangement of revolving tines and curved individually resilient rakefingers loosens the ground to the necessary depth. removes 7 materialsand will, for example, lead to the establishment of eideal seed bed};v

i -T he individual resilience of the revolving tines and stone good,permanentgrass root,v The revolving sifting action aerates, pulverizes,and blends soilamendmentsto producean guide rakes .in combinationrwiththe stone guide depth and tine rotation rate speed controls pennitsthe unit to be used for ley secured to one endof the shaft 39;".A belt61 passes over this pulley and over a second pulley filmounted on a'shaft 63 suitablysupported by bearings 64 and 65 fixedtothe main frameof the machine 10. A second pulley 66 is fixed to the shaft 63. Nowreferringto FIG. l, overthis: pulley there ex tends a belt 67 that ridesover a pulley 68ltixed to the shaft 69 of an internal combustion engine59. The internal combustion engine 59, together withthe belts andpulleys and other means illustrated, rotates the reel 37; and with itthe picking tines 45, all as will be apparent. A clutchtnot shown) maybe included tors for lawns and other small areas. Scaled-up versions ofthe in the drive as in prior art stone pickers. Also, the engine 59 isprovided with the usual speed control for controlling the rotationrateofthetincs 45. 1

Now referring to, FIG. 3, the machine of my invention utilizes a stone:container designated generally by reference numeral 70. The stonecontainer has am'ain plate7l, the end of which isjs designated. andterminates at a transverse wall. 73 extending across the main frame ofthe machine. It is obvious that the platen, together with the wall 73,forms in effect, a boxlike containertofwhich stones may bedirected asbest illustrated in FIG. fliTheplate ,71, is pivoted through a C machinemaybe used with commercial tractors for large recreational, industrialand farm seeding operations. The inboard mounting of the wheels insurethat the raking action will beat a constant depth regardless of thepresence of large stones or hard clods of earth in adjacent untreatedareas.

The individually resiliently mounted rake teeth and revolving tines areless likely to bebrok'en by stones which would jam in the prior artnonresilient mechanisms. If broken, the rake teeth and tines can beindividually replaced by the operator of the machinewithout specialtools. welding apparatus or the like.

it will thus be seen that the objects setjforth above. among those madeapparent from the precedingdescription, are efficiently attained and,since certain changes may be made in the bearing 74 ona shaft 75',mounted on the main frame. and may l readily be rotated to its dashanddotted line position of FIG. 3

when it is desir ed to dump'the stones. Conventional meansaboveconstruction without departing from the scope of the invention, itis intended that all matter contained in the above description or shownin the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative andnot in 'a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended tocover all of the generic and specific features of the invention hereindescribed, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as amatter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

In the following claims the term a significant depth below the surfaceof the ground means at least that depth of stone removal, pulverizationand aeration required to produce a seed bed for grass.

lclaim: I

l. A machine of the class described comprising:

a. a soil contacting and sifting member comprising a plurality ofindividually mounted individually resilient curved teeth adapted forengagement with the ground from the surface thereof to a significantdepth below the surface thereof; and

b. a rotating reel concentric with said soil contacting member havingmounted thereon a plurality of picker tines having a free end and amounted end, each picker tine individually mounted to the reel andindividually resilient, the distance between the free ends of saidpicker tines and their mounted ends being greater than the distancebetween the axis of said reel and said free ends of said tines.

. A machine as defined in claim 1, and:

wheels for supporting said soil contacting member and said reel, all ofsaid wheels being mounted behind said soil contacting member and saidreel and within the outer limits thereof whereby said wheels onlycontact ground previously treated by said teeth and said reel.

3. A machine as defined in claim 1, wherein said teeth are commonlymounted to a plate having two rows of holes therein, said mounting beingby means of carriage bolts performing the dual function of spacing andfixing said teeth to said plate.

4. A machine as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said teeth is curvedover the major portion thereof substantially in a circle substantiallyconcentric with the axis of rotation of said picker reel with astraighter ground-engaging end to facilitate engagement of said teeth ata significant depth below the surface of the ground.

5. A machine of the class described comprising:

a. a sifting member comprising a plurality of curved teeth adapted toseparate from soil and to guide stones being picked into a container;and

b. a rotating reel concentric with said sifting member having mountedthereon a plurality of picker tines having a free end and a mounted end,each picker tine individually mounted to the reel and individuallyresilient, the

distance between the free ends of said picker tines and their mountedends being greater than the distance between the axis of said reel andsaid free ends of said tines.

6. A machine as defined in claim 5 wherein said tines extend in theirunflexed condition to a significant depth below the surface of theground treated thereby.

7. A machine as defined in claim 5 wherein the mounted ends of saidtines on said reel are offset relative the axis of rotation of said reelso that when the free end of a tine is in vertical alignment with theaxis of rotation of said reel, the mounted end of said tine on said reelwill be at the side of said axis of rotation toward said sifting member.

8. A machine as defined in claim 7 wherein each of said tines is aspringlike rod with its said mounted end imbedded in a socket formed ofresilient material.

9. A machine as defined in claim 8 wherein each of said tines is squarein cross section.

10. A machine as defined in claim 5 wherein each of said tines is aspringlike rod with its said mounted end imbedded in a socket formed ofresilient material.

11. A machine as defined in claim 5 wherein the mounted ends of saidtines are displaced above said axis of rotation when a tine is incontact with the soil so that the tine will be in a sweeping positionbest to utilize its flexing construction and its greater length.

12 A machine as defined in claim 11 wherein the free ends of said tinesextend into the ground to a significant extent when they are directlybelow said axis.

13. A machine as defined in claim 11 wherein the mounted ends of saidtines on said reel are offset relative the axis of rotation of said reelso that when the free end of a tine is in vertical alignment with theaxis of rotation of said reel, the mounted end of said tine on said reelwill be at the side of said axis of rotation toward said sifting member.

14. A machine as defined in claim 5 wherein each of said tines is squarein cross section.

15. A machine as defined in claim 5 wherein said reel comprises a pairof tine mounts located at equal distances from, on opposite sides of,and paralleled to said axis of rotation; said tines mounted to saidmounts in two planes spaced from said axis; and said tines cuttingacross the cylindrical path of rotation of said mounts.

16. A machine as defined in claim 5, and:

c. wheels for supporting said sifting member and said reel all of saidwheels being mounted behind said sifting member and said reel and withinthe outer limits thereof whereby said wheels only contact groundpreviously treated by said sifting member and said reel.

1. A machine of the class described comprising: a. a soil contacting andsifting member comprising a plurality of individually mountedindividually resilient curved teeth adapted for engagement with theground from the surface thereof to a significant depth below the surfacethereof; and b. a rotating reel concentric with said soil contactingmember having mounted thereon a plurality of picker tines having a freeend and a mounted end, each picker tine individually mounted to the reeland individually resilient, the distance between the free ends of saidpicker tines and their mounted ends being greater than the distancebetween the axis of said reel and said free ends of said tines.
 2. Amachine as defined in claim 1, and: c. wheels for supporting said soilcontacting member and said reel, all of said wheels being mounted behindsaid soil contacting member and said reel and within the outer limitsthereof whereby said wheels only contact ground previously treated bysaid teeth and said reel.
 3. A machine as defined in claim 1, whereinsaid teeth are commonly mounted to a plate having two rows of holestherein, said mouNting being by means of carriage bolts performing thedual function of spacing and fixing said teeth to said plate.
 4. Amachine as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said teeth is curved overthe major portion thereof substantially in a circle substantiallyconcentric with the axis of rotation of said picker reel with astraighter ground-engaging end to facilitate engagement of said teeth ata significant depth below the surface of the ground.
 5. A machine of theclass described comprising: a. a sifting member comprising a pluralityof curved teeth adapted to separate from soil and to guide stones beingpicked into a container; and b. a rotating reel concentric with saidsifting member having mounted thereon a plurality of picker tines havinga free end and a mounted end, each picker tine individually mounted tothe reel and individually resilient, the distance between the free endsof said picker tines and their mounted ends being greater than thedistance between the axis of said reel and said free ends of said tines.6. A machine as defined in claim 5 wherein said tines extend in theirunflexed condition to a significant depth below the surface of theground treated thereby.
 7. A machine as defined in claim 5 wherein themounted ends of said tines on said reel are offset relative the axis ofrotation of said reel so that when the free end of a tine is in verticalalignment with the axis of rotation of said reel, the mounted end ofsaid tine on said reel will be at the side of said axis of rotationtoward said sifting member.
 8. A machine as defined in claim 7 whereineach of said tines is a springlike rod with its said mounted endimbedded in a socket formed of resilient material.
 9. A machine asdefined in claim 8 wherein each of said tines is square in crosssection.
 10. A machine as defined in claim 5 wherein each of said tinesis a springlike rod with its said mounted end imbedded in a socketformed of resilient material.
 11. A machine as defined in claim 5wherein the mounted ends of said tines are displaced above said axis ofrotation when a tine is in contact with the soil so that the tine willbe in a sweeping position best to utilize its flexing construction andits greater length. 12 A machine as defined in claim 11 wherein the freeends of said tines extend into the ground to a significant extent whenthey are directly below said axis.
 13. A machine as defined in claim 11wherein the mounted ends of said tines on said reel are offset relativethe axis of rotation of said reel so that when the free end of a tine isin vertical alignment with the axis of rotation of said reel, themounted end of said tine on said reel will be at the side of said axisof rotation toward said sifting member.
 14. A machine as defined inclaim 5 wherein each of said tines is square in cross section.
 15. Amachine as defined in claim 5 wherein said reel comprises a pair of tinemounts located at equal distances from, on opposite sides of, andparalleled to said axis of rotation; said tines mounted to said mountsin two planes spaced from said axis; and said tines cutting across thecylindrical path of rotation of said mounts.
 16. A machine as defined inclaim 5, and: c. wheels for supporting said sifting member and said reel, all of said wheels being mounted behind said sifting member and saidreel and within the outer limits thereof whereby said wheels onlycontact ground previously treated by said sifting member and said reel.